The Trick to Being Human
by StudyInViolet
Summary: It was the start of a bad joke, a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf renting a house together…
1. Chapter One

**The Trick to Being Human**

_Chapter One_

* * *

><p><em>A werewolf, a ghost, and a vampire all walk into a bar. But if they don't tell anyone what they are, would they be treated any differently?<em>

* * *

><p>"You need to say something to him," Kurt bristled as he followed Mercedes into the kitchen.<p>

Settled at the table Tina looked over the newspaper at her roommates, almost able to recite the argument word by word to herself.

"Why me?" Mercedes snapped, "You're the only one who's bothered!"

"He doesn't even drink coffee, he just keeps making it and leaving it all over the place," Kurt argued, "I can't even make coffee for myself because there are no cups to be used!"

"Tell Artie, not me," Mercedes snapped opening the cabinet in an effort to end the conversation, but Kurt wasn't to be dissuaded. The closer it came to the full moon the less likely he was to back down coupled with more erratic behavior.

"You brought him here! We didn't need another roommate, particularly a freeloader. He can't even get a job because of his condition!"

"Mercedes just has the habit of picking up strays." Tina remarked dryly ignoring the stern look Kurt shot at her. "Besides we don't have any more coffee. It was your turn to go to the store."

"My turn?" Kurt retorted his voice growing louder, "It's supposed to be your turn!"

"It's too sunny out."

Kurt turned to Mercedes who was looking very intently between two unlabeled bottles.

"I can't help the fact that she's nocturnal," Mercedes replied as she opened a bottle, and reared her head back was the odor that come from it.

"You go out in the daylight," Kurt protested his teeth on edge, "you don't even sparkle-"

Tina lowered the paper, her eyes darkening over to pupiless black that made him gulp and tugged at his scarf.

Mercedes not so discretely snorted, hastily turning it into a cough as Kurt swung his head in her direction.

"Fine," he slumped dramatically into his chair, crossing his legs in disgust, "I'll go."

"Go tonight, we're out of-"

Kurt leapt up out of his chair, upsetting the table. Tina picked up her cup before it could topple to the floor. "Tonight is a full moon! You can't possibly-"

"I know," Mercedes turned away from the counter forcing a smile, a sign that she had forgotten once again. "You'll be at work won't you?"

"Speaking of which," Tina said glancing at her watch as Kurt scowled, "the sun's starting to set. We need to get going."

"Just be careful," Mercedes said as she looked over at them, "and don't eat anything or anyone."

Tina thought for a moment the caution was directed at Kurt, but he had already disappeared through the doorway.

"I'm on the wagon," Tina replied but Mercedes fixed her with a hard stare.

She met the gaze for a moment until Mercedes looked away.

"Don't forget to buy some milk while you're out!"

* * *

><p>It was the beginning of a bad joke, a werewolf, a vampire, a ghost renting a house together. It was from a plan, the each in their own independent means had found the notice for the house, and arrived roughly at the same time , too stubborn to yield to the others. Kurt came look for asylum, from his condition and most likely from his past as well. Tina was looking for a drastic change as she broke away from the coven. Mercedes as , well a somewhat, practicing Wiccan she game hunting monsters looking for ghosts but finding herself with more than she bargained for. And as for Artie he showed himself to them not long after they arrived. The little mysteries of the household, cups of coffee on the table, the newspaper brought in every morning, the curtain drawn open even after they were closed the night before, solved with his appearance.<p>

It shouldn't have worked, they putting off chores and tried to pass errands on to the next person, but oddly enough it did. They had their spats, and Kurt wasn't above making a snide comment when she put blue streaks in her hair, but the house that was so empty for so long was starting to feel like home. Though there were nights like tonight she was worried it might not.

"I work for an hour," Kurt said as they rode up in the elevator, as he adjusted the ill-fitting scrubs in the reflective surface, "and I'll say something came up, and sneak into the old psych ward."

"You're running out of relatives to kill off," Tina said bemused leaning against the elevator walls, staring in interest at his reflection. "If Lopez stopped lusting over the plucky intern, she'll catch on sooner or later. They don't call her CTB for nothing. And don't forget Sylvester, I think she's on to us."

Kurt laughed, put it was hollow sticking in his throat. While he grew brasher the closer the full moon came, he also grew frightened. Kurt kept his clothes folded and pressed exactly, and welcomed disarray into his life as much as a twister, even if disarray came right on time once every 29 days.

The elevator dinged as it hit the floor.

"I'll see you in the morning."

Tina waved at Kurt as he disappeared down the hall, to the cabinet where he would stock supplies before he made his grand disappearance.

Heading towards the nurses' station to gather charts to do inventory on the ward's closet, she watched as Lopez leaned a bit too closely as she read the charts Brittany held. The blonde as usual didn't think much of it, as she continued to read aloud the status of the pediatric patients under her care. Tina let her eyes slide pass them as she surveyed the TV monitor, only watching with interest as the door closed.

No, she narrowed her eyes at the sight. Open on its own.

Forgetting the charts, she purposely made her way through the hallway, heading towards the ICU. She saw the door propped open and caught sight of the figure bent over the patient.

"Step away from the bed," Tina said as she closed the door behind her. "Your bedside manner stinks."

Jesse looked up as he reached over for the tubes and wires for the patient's chart.

"Nice to see you too, it's been what, a decade? Haven't changed a bit."

"The Hospital's off limits," Tina said firmly as Jesse flipped through the charts.

"You don't say," he said, reading off the chart, "Principal Figgins. Apparently investing in anti-embolism stockings makes you rich, who knew. Type B- minus, though a bit high on the cholesterol" Jesse dropped the chart and playfully pulled at the tube revealing the unconscious man's neck, "not a personal favorite but I don't mind a little junk food now and then."

Tina started at his words, "Don't you dare."

Jesse looked up with a small smile playing on his lips, his fangs prominent challenging her. "And you're going to stop me? Look at you, you're shaking." Tina hid her hands behind her, "you stopped feeding haven't you?" He laughed, "Do you really think you're better for it? All you're doing is going against your nature, our nature. We are vampires, we feed on blood, it's how we survive."

Tina watched his hands dance on Figgins's vein resting on the jugular where the main pulse pumped the body's life blood. She could almost hear the thud of the heartbeat, the promise of life and vitality that she heard sometimes in the darkness of the night.

"It's wrong," she said shaking herself, "It's murder."

"Murder?" Jesse dropped his hands, moving around the bed to face Tina, faking shock. "Of humans? Aren't you to talk? The stories I heard about you from the others. '49 in Tokyo, Vietnam, and that rave at UCLA. Not to mention our little-"

"I don't care," Tina interpreted as she stared straight in Jesse's smirking face, "you're not recruiting people under my watch."

"But homeless people are so old hat."

He lurched for the bed, and Tina grabbed him in time shoving him onto the wall hard enough to rattle the machines nearby.

"You listen to me," she said feeling her fangs slip over lips, "The hospital is off-limits," she twisted his wrist when he opened his mouth to protest. "Do you want me to remind you why Asian vampires are the most viscous?"

She let go, and Jesse straightened his jacket. "I'm scared." He taunted but made no move to go back to the bed. "Just remember Tina, there are systems in place. We aren't cruel as you suddenly think we are, we'll welcome you back if change your mind. And we'll be here for you even when your pet humans turn your backs on you."

Tina watched as he left the room, and then proceeded to follow him out the best she could without being too conspicuous.

She couldn't do much once he left the hospital, she couldn't stop him from cornering drunks or homeless people on benches and turning them, but she could stop it here. She could keep a bit of normality in just one more place.

_26 minutes left_

Tina was in the middle of inventory when she heard the tell tale patter of feet of her more frequent visitor.

"I'm about to get off, how about we grab a cup of coffee?"

Mike Chang may have been have been the top percent of his graduating class, but he wasn't too sharp about more mundane things. He had asked her out in a variety of unimaginative ways for the entirety of the past six months she had been working here. From dim sum, to coffee, to bumping into her in the store, if Tina hadn't been undead for a quite a few decades now, she would have been worried about being stalked. Instead she was mildly annoyed. When she told Mercedes they should try interacting with humans she wasn't too sure she meant dating them. There was a number of challenges other than the fact "Asian" often popped up in her conversations with Mike.

"I'm a bit busy actually," she said turning away from the chart.

Mike kept smiling though and Tina wondered at the great depths that human could be so daft. She avoided his eyes with little problem, but she could hear the soft pulse of his blood and her hands shook minutely.

"Just a bite, we dash down to the cafeteria if you like."

Tina brushed back her hair nervously, "I got –" as she looked up at him, she saw beyond his shoulder to see Kurt jumping up and down the hall in a rush, holding a tote bag, exactly five minutes too late past the time he should be in the old pysch ward.

Tina shoved the stacks of towels into Mike's arms. "If you could excuse me…"

She ran up to Kurt dragging him around the corner, "Are you supposed to be somewhere-"

"I know. They were doing construction down there."

"You know anywhere else?"

"I can't exactly do the change in Walmart can I?"

"No you can't!"

Mike had begun to creep down the hallway clutched the wrinkled towels to his chest. Tina took Kurt by the arm quickly making their way out.

_22 minutes_

"You have to go somewhere," she said going by the locker and grabbing her coat and keys, leaving behind her street clothes behind in her rush. "Don't you make back up plans for this, like your skin care regime?"

He took a few moments of his panic to shoot her a dirty look. Tina ignored him, as they made their way to the garage and into her car.

"You should have a backup though," Tina said as she revved the engine, speeding out nearly clipping a bicyclist.

"I'm kinda of new at this," Kurt said jittery as he glanced up at the sky then at his watch. "I haven't had decades-" his words clipped off a yelp.

Tina hit the break at the spotlight, as she turned to him. "Is it starting?"

Kurt held up her newly bought sweater gingerly. "What have I told you about thrift stores?"

Tina hit the gas hard enough not only the scare the nine lives out of the cat passing by but send Kurt rocking backwards into the seat.

At twelve minutes they pulled outside the fringe of the woods, Kurt jumped out the car grabbing his bag only to pause as a pack of teenagers ran into the woods with cheap wine and blankets.

Kurt leapt back in the car at eleven minutes, and Tina hit her head on the steering wheel at ten blowing the horn.

"Where are we going to go?" Tina moaned.

"I don't know, this wasn't supposed to happened, I didn't plan for this!"

"Wait. There is."

"No," Kurt said at once. "I can't do it at the house."

"You can't keep it separate like your clothes, Kurt! You can't keep these worlds separate anymore. And time's running out you have no other option."

Kurt fumed for a moment, until he sighed nodding in grim agreement. Tina spun the wheel heading a new direction, pressing the gas flat to the floor.

She added new scratches to her car but they made it back in one piece in the driveway, Kurt bolting out the car even before she even turned the engine off.

"What do you need?" she said as Kurt darted around the room shutting and drawing closed the windows, and moving the vases and pottery out.

"Shut the door, and move out anything you want saved. I don't know what it'll do otherwise."

Tina nodded, pulling out cds and albums from the bookshelf .

"What the hell are you guys doing back?" Mercedes asked from the door behind Kurt.

_Crack._

"Isn't it his time of the month?" Artie asked curiously. "Don't you usually do this somewhere else?"

"My plans fell through, just get out the way and save what you want like that silly painting of yours-" he yelped dropping the vase in hands, clutched he stomach as fell to the floor.

"You really are going to do this here?" Artie asked with the careless concern of the deceased.

"Looks like there's no choice," Mercedes muttered as she pushed the coffee table and a stack of breakables into the hall.

"Get out here, you could get hurt," Tina said as Mercedes dashed to grab the TV.

"Mind you," Mercedes tapping the protective charm around her neck, "I know what I'm doing."

There wasn't time to roll her eyes, but she settled on trying not to be obvious by shooing Artie out.

"I never seen a werewolf transform before," he said pushing up his glasses up as he wheeled up to Kurt.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"He can't hurt me-"

Tina was reaching for the handles of his chair, when Kurt suddenly looked up his pupils dilated and irises yellow.

"Argyle," Kurt hissed before lurching himself into Artie's direction, only to hit the wall instead rattling the bookshelf.

_Crack._

Next to her Artie muttered, "That was a bit too close."

His words broke the tension in the room, and Mercedes whistled from the open doorway.

Without waiting for Artie to argue otherwise, Tina grabbed the handles of the wheelchair, and quickly backed them out the room into the cramped hallway, shutting the door to the living room and engulfing them all in the dark.

Something heavy hit the door, and together she and Mercedes rammed the table up against the door.

The table jolted a bit as Kurt hit the door once more, but it didn't budge.

Tina was about to move to sit down when Mercedes suddenly exclaimed, "Why the hell you bring him back here!"

"There was no time. The psych ward was being renovated, and I thought-"

"You thought-"Mercedes interrupted, "what if I wasn't here, what if I had company over-

"You didn't-"

"I might have, you didn't even call!"

"There wasn't time," Artie interjected.

Mercedes looked in askance at him. "Do you always have to take her side?"

Artie's answer was lost in the sudden increase of shrieks from the other side of the room.

At the sound, Mercedes's face fell as she slumped on the floor wrapping her arms around her knees.

Guilt crept a bit into Tina as she watched her friend try to keep her composure, reminded once again that Mercedes was the most human of them all.

"It'll be alright," Tina said placing an arm around Mercedes's shoulders, "he's still Kurt even if he wants to rip out your throat."

"Which isn't different than usual," Artie quipped.

"It sounds so painful," Mercedes whispered, "it's like he's dying."

"Technically he is." Artie pushed up glasses as he added, "A werewolf's organs are much smaller than a human's so in order to do the change, his heart stops and he has liver and kidney failure concurrently, and he'll only stops screaming because his vocal chords are-"

Mercedes made a small noise, and Tina glared at Artie effectively causing the ghost to shut up.

"Everything will be fine in the morning." Tina said firmly.

They all flinched at the sound of glass breaking.

"I forgot the lamp," Mercedes muttered under her breath.

"I never liked it anyway." Tina replied as the noises turned into somewhat melodic howls.

"So," Artie asked conversationally, "I guess we're doing some remodeling huh?"

* * *

><p>The next morning Kurt trudged slowly down the stairs, preparing to see the sight before him. He caught sight of the scratches on the floor, before he saw the ruin the living room was in.<p>

Glancing from the ripped wallpaper to the torn light fixtures, his eyes fell to the piles of a splintered wood that once was the bookshelf.

"It did all this?" Kurt said quietly.

"Don't worry," Mercedes said briskly, "we managed to save what we wanted and salvage all the rest."

Tina tossed a blanket over the couch, "We have to make a trip to Ikea though," she looked at him darkly, "and you know how I feel about that."

Kurt slumped against the wall, the fragments of the night before flickering before his like shards of stain glass.

"What happened, did it do anything. Did it eat-"

"Who would be around to eat," Artie remarked earning himself a glare from Kurt.

"Nothing happened," Tina said soothingly, "the neighbors complained about the noise of course."

"And you didn't smash anything important." Artie added.

" 'It' didn't," Kurt corrected hastily.

"I was thinking," Mercedes interjected before Artie could reply, "We should probably make some house rules."

She went into the next room calling, "So everyone should be on the same page about things."

Tina faked a laugh as she sat on the edge of the couch, "we haven't any reason to, if you haven't notice our socials lives are pretty dead around here," she looked absently at Artie, "no offense."

"None taken," he said cheerfully, and she smiled.

"I talking about so that things like this can't happen again." Mercedes came back with a pen and paper. "First rule in order-"

Kurt rolled his eyes sitting down. He loved Mercedes to death, but sometimes he thought she tried harder then all of them to make things normal. Tina did it because she hated being noticed, and wanted to blend in even if it went against her nature. Artie did it because he was tired of being overlooked and ignored. He did it because he felt suffocated by a secret that while had little effect on others, could face a lot of prejudice if he announced it to the world. But Mercedes wanted desperately for things to be normal. Yes, she practiced witchcraft, and yes her protective charms did work, but she tried much harder than all of them make things normal around here, to pretend they really were just four young twenty something renting a house together.

But at the moment they were sitting inside the mess the wolf had just done, and making silly rules weren't going to change anything no matter how much they wished it could.

"If we're going in that direction," Kurt snapped, "we might as well invite humans over to this madhouse-"

"That's a good idea!"

The lack of sarcasm in Mercedes's voice was disturbing. But he didn't say anything, hoping she would forget trying to guilt him to going to the grocery store as they made up the stupid house rules.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

* * *

><p>For Mercedes, coffee was one of the few normal things she had left. People always wanted coffee no matter the time of day, and because of it always reminded her of the home she long abandoned, even if it came with some drawbacks.<p>

"If you mess that up again," Rachel said from the back room, "it's coming out your pay check."

Her hand shook, and tried to force a smile.

"Don't worry she doesn't bite."

Mercedes rolled her eyes ignoring the other barista Sam, who despite randomly quoting obscure movies, was was perhaps the lesser of two evils of the one-two punch that was aspiring Broadway starlet Rachel Berry and her good intentioned boyfriend Finn.

"Just because she got turned down for community theater doesn't mean she can take it out on me."

Sam opened his mouth to reply.

"You quote _Star Wars_ again and I'll- " Mercedes threatened.

"Could you close for me again?" Sam interrupted.

"Why not Finn?"

Sam laughed and pointed beyond the coffee machines.

Finn moved about the mostly empty coffee shop, cleaning up humming 80s soft rock under his breath. At a table an off duty doctor scowled as he passed.

"Fine," she grumbled, "but why do you need-" she begun only to stop when she saw Kurt run into the shop.

"Hide me!" he hissed, "I'm being chased."

Mercedes looked on curiosity as Kurt ducked under the counter nearly knocking over Sam.

"Why can't you find a better excuse not to go grocery shopping?"

Kurt shushed her, as a man stormed into the store, nearly knocking over the display of coffee mugs.

"Are you looking for something?" the doctor had stood up clutching her cup of coffee like a weapon, staring up at the burly man. "Because whatever it is you won't find it here."

The man looked around, directly at Mercedes and Sam, his eyes darting to the bar.

He took a step forward, but the doctor, wagged a manicured red tip in front of him, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"You wrecked my car, Hummel and I'm going to wait until I get the money out of you!" he side eyed the doctor. "Outside!"

He stomped out nearly knocking over the display.

"You're a coward" the doctor said coming to counter, she directed her voice to Kurt who was peering over the edge, "You wouldn't last one minute in Lima Heights"

She crumpled her cup and left, miming a punch at the guy as she left.

"What did you do," Mercedes asked, as Kurt stood up brushing off his clothes.

"Nothing." Kurt said as he fiddled with the express machine. "Just avoiding someone."

"If it's trouble, shouldn't you tell someone?" Sam asked.

"What did you do anyway?" Mercedes added.

"It's nothing," Kurt surveyed him over the cup, glancing at the nametag. "Sam. You should use lemon juice. It won't damage your hair as much."

Sam absently touched his head, "I don't dye my hair."

"Sure you do, I have an excellent nose for these things."

Sam eyes widened in alarm, "You can smell me?"

"Okay," Mercedes interrupted taking Kurt not so gently by the arm. "This is getting weird. Why don't you sit down, before Rachel comes back out."

"What about Karofsky he's probably waiting for me-"

"Don't worry it," Mercedes tapped the pentagram around her neck. "I'll make a circle of protection."

"That protects against vampires not idiots."

"Suit yourself, he'll probably get bored and leave soon." Seeing that Sam was looking at them intently, she let go of Kurt's arm.

"Sit down. Sam, get him an expresso."

Sam bumbled around in the back counter, and Mercedes flinched as she recognized the sound of cups breaking. But she ignored it going outside to where this Karofsky person was waiting.

Wrapping her fingers around the charm around her neck, she whispered a suggestion.

The burly man jerked up straight and turned direction disappearing down the street.

"Good riddance," Mercedes muttered, they had enough to deal with anyway without any extra drama.

Upon returning to her station Sam shoved his wallet into her face. "This is why." He said gruffly gesturing to the pictures of two blonde children. "My parents died last week. I have full custody of them now."

"I didn't know, I-"

"I wasn't close to them anymore," Sam said gruffily as he looked away. "I just wanted you to know."

Mercedes nodded as she stared at the pictures, only to see another one sticking out. Sam was grinning as he bent over to pose with –

"Artie." Mercedes whispered.

Sam's eyes darted to back to her. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, "Who's your friend? He looks familiar."

* * *

><p>"You know you should stop making coffee that no one drinks." Tina held an empty cup in her hands.<p>

"I need something to do, I'm bored."

"Can't you leave the house?" Tina lowered her sunglasses, "you didn't die here did you?"

Artie looked around, as if he was contemplating things. "Somewhere else, it just feels safe here."

Tina sat down on the broken couch. They had gotten a few things from Ikea but the room was far from what it use to be. "Even after Kurt changed in here? And can't not feel anything?"

"I have some feeling," Artie protested. "When I watch-"

Tina shook her head cutting him off, "I mean you can make coffee, and move things around but can you feel it?"

_Crack._

Tina jumped a bit as he appeared next to the couch, deep in thought. "I never really thought about it. I was happy I could move things, but too feel-"

Her eyes slid to his wheelchair, and she wondered briefly why even in death he stayed in it. He was dead surely he could walk if he wanted to. But she was too afraid to ask.

She, Tina, the Asian Vampire that terrorized large parts of the San Francisco area for decades and fought off rivals to the bitter end, was too afraid to ask a simple question from her roommate.

Except Artie wasn't just a roommate, he was probably the closest friend she ever had, even if he was the most dismissive about her tentative going along with Mike's pursuit.

But today she was focused on helping, in whatever fashion she could think of.

"Think about it, you might not be able to eat, maybe you could feel the food, or get sensation of touching-"

He looked at her warningly. "As in?"

Tina stood up suddenly leaning on the armrest of the wheelchair and kissed him. The sensation that crossed her was cold and chilly, not unlike kissing someone that had come from outside.

"Did you feel anything?" she asked as she opened her eyes.

_Crack._

Tina caught herself before she fell to the floor, but instead of her shin she felt the bruises on her ego. No one had ever disappeared on her before!

Hearing the sounds in the kitchen, she followed them to where Artie was pouring a cup of coffee.

"Well?" she said.

He didn't answer.

"I don't know how this works, how any of this works," he said abruptly. "they don't give you instructions on when you die. I woke up and here I was." He pushed away from the counter.

Thinking back to her frantic days after she was turned and the coven that was her family until a few wars between rivals groups resulted in her departure, she asked, "did anyone take you under their wing?"

"As a ghoul tour guide?" Artie, "not really though I did run into guy who died in the 80s, but he seemed lost as I was."

_Crack._

Artie moved right next to her handing her the cup of coffee. "I always felt I was running out time when I was alive. I wanted to dance. I wanted to direct films. I wanted to open a guitar shop. And now since I'm dead I have time to do everything and nothing at all. And I wonder if I stay like this, here, not here, will I always be like this."

"You might just disappear." Tina whispered.

"Or not. I met someone else like me, he said something about making peace to move on. That there is Door we open when make peace with ourselves. But I already went about connecting with my family and -"

"Maybe you should haunt someone." Tina suggested.

He actually considered it for a few moments as his mouth twisted in thought. "That would be something to do. I don't know how to."

"Well there are those shows about haunted houses maybe you can pick up some tips. Or find other ghosts, surely there bounds to be loads all around."

His eyes lit up. "That's brilliant!"

_Crack._

"Artie!" She yelled but he was gone this for real. She took a sip of the coffee and recoiled at the taste, and went to pour it out. "You're welcome!"

* * *

><p>Kurt looked away from the appliance, cradling the empty mug in his hand. A witty remark on his tongue that was forgotten as he saw that Tina was reading the obituaries again, which remained him of something.<p>

"Your stalker talked to me when I got off my shift," he said.

"I don't have a stalker."

"He followed me into the locker room asking me about you. Weren't you going to tell him you're not interested?"

Tina continued to read, "I haven't decided yet."

"About what? You go on about interacting with humans, but you refuse to do it yourself. What are you afraid of?"

She lowered the paper with a dark scowl. "I'm not afraid. It's just different for me. You can live a normal life except for one night a month. People notice when I don't age."

"Just because I can hide my condition doesn't mean I should," Kurt remarked.

"Stop calling it a condition. Just say it for once, you're a werewolf. You're always a werewolf. You transformed in this house nearly a month ago!"

_Crack._

Artie popped into the room in that moment, and Kurt was never glad to see a fashion emergency in his entire life.

"Hey guys, I need a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Tina asked, even as Kurt dropped the coffee cup in the sink.

"Sure," Kurt said leaping over, pushing Artie out the room, "let's talk about it somewhere else-"

Kurt nearly tripped as Artie popped out of sight appearing at the breakfast table.

"I need your help," he said to Tina, "remember what I mentioned the other day?"

She fiddled with the edge of the newspaper, "by trying to help other ghosts cross over?"

"I think I found one. And I need your help," Artie glanced over Kurt who was trying to feign disinterest, "both of your help."

"You tricked me," Kurt muttered under his breath as he pushed the cart, as he glowered at Tina who was reading a grocery list. "You both tricked me. What happened to it being too bright out?"

Tina looked over her sunglasses, "It's not my fault you wanted to go ghost hunting."

"Like we can go ghost hunting here. The only people who died here are people who died getting turkeys hours before Thanksgiving. Did Mercedes put him up to this? Of course the guy who can't even touch the food is the one that forces us to go shopping!"

"He can, we tested it once. Well," Tina added hastily as Kurt stared at her, "oh look that thing we need, it's on sale! Why don't you get the meat!"

She shoved a list into his hands as she ran off.

"Way to reinforce stereotypes!" he called after her, attracting attention from the shoppers.

With both of them gone Kurt resigned himself to maneuvering the cart through the aisle as best as he could without touching the handle. He routinely picked up the items of Mercedes's list including a chicken.

As checked off a listen he heard a voice around the next aisle.

"I'm not saying I don't want to get married Carole, it just I don't want to do without my son."

His pen fell to the dirty linoleum floor as the air rushed out of his lungs.

"I understand. There years or ten, it still hurts. We can push it back…"

"No. It's not fair to you or Finn since he and his girlfriend has been planning this. We'll go through this. I just don't want to admit he might just be dead …"

As the voices grew near, Kurt ducked down an opposite aisle nearly knocking over a blonde examining cans of cat food.

What was his father doing in Lima? And what more what was he doing getting married?

* * *

><p>"This wasn't what I had in mind when you said you wanted to ditch Kurt."<p>

Artie looked over sheepishly at Tina as they entered the downtown theater that recently had been converted to host a traveling show.

Tina peered around the empty theater to the banner hanging above the small soundstage as she removed her sunglasses. 'William Schuster, Psychic Extraordinaire'. Humans will believe anything."

"Says the vampire."

"Says the ghost who wasting a vampire's time with a fake psychic," Tina climbed up the stairs glancing around the empty seats, "I thought you said we were going ghost hunting."

"This is a hangout for some of the ghosts in the area. It's a power source, it draws them like Stonehenge. "

"I think they're just here for the show. I can only just imagine the antics."

Tina sat down in a chair, propping her foot on the chair in front of her as she placed her hands behinds her head.

"You aren't leaving?"

"I'm here I might as well watch."

_Crack._

Artie popped into the chair next to her, miming her body language. "The show doesn't start for a while."

"They why come here early?"

Artie paused before he said. "I heard you have stalker at work."

Tina groaned sinking into her seat. "Not you too. Kurt put you up to this didn't he?"

"So you do have stalker."

I don't have a stalker," Tina muttered tugging at fishnet arm warmers, " It's just someone who wants to go out for drinks."

Artie didn't blink. "If it's just drinks why don't you say yes?"

"Because it's not just drinks. Besides it wouldn't work. We're playing entirely different league."

"Human-vampire incompatibility, is that your excuse?"

Tina made a face, gently punching him in the arm.

"Pardon me for not wanting to jump into things."

"Isn't that what being human is," Artie said suddenly, "taking chances?"

"You can't take a chance like this," Tina muttered, "someone once told me if you want to take big risks you have surround with people who'll catch you when you fall."

"And you don't trust any of us?"

Tina looked askance at him before she turned away from him crossing her arms over her chest, "Eventually Kurt and Mercedes will grow old, and you'll just fade away."

"Fade away?"

"You have to pass over eventually, and then poof." She gestured widely as she pulled her sunglasses back on, "and it'll be the same story again. And it'll just be me."

Artie tapped the armrests of his chair, not wanting to say what was on the tip of his tongue. In the months that he resided in the house, Mercedes had been beating over his head about his lack of tact claiming being dead didn't save even him from his offenses. While it amused him to ruffle Kurt's feathers, he took a pause when it came to Tina these days especially since one little remark got him the silent treatment for a week.

And was Tina different. Though he barely felt it, he thought about the impromptu kiss more often than he was willingly to admit. But since she said nothing, even acted like it didn't happened at all, Artie let the matter pass. Besides there was no way she even thought of him like that when she had her human stalker...

"You two," an usher said, "you're in the wrong seats."

"No one here," Tina retorted only to hiss as the flashlight was shone directly into her eyes.

"You're making too much noise, don't make me work harder than I have too. Come with me, both of you."

"Wait," Artie asked exchanging a look with Tina, "you can see me?"

The usher turned, scowling as she sighed, "of course I can. But we need to get your little vampire friend somewhere else before the living gets here."

The usher left, walking straight through seats to get to the hallway.

"I haven't seen you around," the usher asked, "when did you died?"

Artie opened his mouth to reply as she responded, "I died in all places a Sheets & Things. Death by mattresses suffocation! And I though having my body found Howard Bamboo was bad enough…. Here we are. Best seats in the house."

Here was a tiny room where ghosts were huddled around a television making idle conversation. Quite a few looked a bit worse for the war with tire marks and things sticking out of them. But it was quiet ordinary including the old lady in the corner with knitting needles.

"We stay back here," the usher said "to keep them from bothering humans. Ever since Will stopped listening to us it's been chaotic."

"He's a real psychic?" Tina asked befuddled.

"He's human, and he can actually hear us?" Artie asked.

"He always ignored me though," the usher said, "something about us getting divorced being a problem, but the others he always talked to."

Tina looked at the TV screen where the psychic was doing sound checks.

"He would help them send messages over to humans that were left behind. Sometimes it made it worse, but it was nice." She added softly, "very nice."

Artie asked a few more questions about the psychic and, Tina supposed, more details about the grumpy usher. However Tina was distracted by the crowd of ghosts around the television. While the others had move in closers, a few had hung back, one, Tina recognized with flash of fright.

She ran out the room, and from backstage before Artie could stop her, not stopping until she got outside and her blind panic faded a bit.

_Crack._

"You look like you seen a ghost."

Tina glared at Artie, but given how he didn't react it must have been less than effective.

"Someone you recognized?"

"You wouldn't understand," Tina muttered. "I may come across as a very effervescent person, but if you knew my past you wouldn't think so."

"Try me," Artie plucked the collar of his shirt, "I'm dead, surprises won't kill me."

"This isn't a joke," Tina muttered fiddling with the sunglasses about to put them on, when she stopped realizing people were staring at her.

She quickly began to walk down the street pulling out a phone holding it to her ear, "just forget about it."

He rolled up next to her.

"You panicked for a reason."

"We all have secrets it's one of the rules of renting the house together. We don't ask, we don't tell."

"I died last year in a freak accident. And if I want to I could get up and walk but that means I have to stop being in denial of my condition."

Tina stopped where she was in the sidewalk, turning to look at Artie who wasn't that far behind her.

It was the first time any of her roommates had pushed in this way. She knew what Mercedes had an aversion to citrus scents that went from food to cleaners. She knew that Kurt ironed everything he owned including his underwear. But this was first time one of them have reveal something so personal. Tina had spent so much time pushing people away, she was almost startled at how he reached out to her, in way she couldn't just brushed aside.

Almost though.

"We have to find Kurt," Tina said pulling on her shades, "hopefully he actually did the shopping."

She turned away pretending not to see his crestfallen expression.

* * *

><p>"I hate you both," was Kurt's first words to Artie and Tina when the three of them met at the back door.<p>

He carried a bunch of groceries and apparently a chip on shoulder, which for a brief moment made Artie feel a guilty a bit before Kurt said, "enjoy your date?"

"It wasn't a date," Tina breezed as she grabbed a bag from him putting it on the table, "did you get the milk? What's with the chicken?"

"It's for later," Kurt said shiftily, "why did you abandoned me in the store!"

"Remember how you were upset the annual "Sound of music" showing was pushed back?" Tina said, "There's a psychic in town for the week. A real psychic that apparently can talk to ghosts."

"Not anymore." Artie amended, "I talked to Terri, the usher," he added, "and she said he might have some blockage." He paused before he said, "I think I'm going to try to help him."

"Okay." Kurt said with a nod.

"Okay?" Tina asked surprised, "you don't have anything to say about it? You usually do."

"I don't think he's a real psychic," Kurt said, "and if anything probably just very lucky."

"I don't-" Artie began.

"Don't bother," Tina interrupted with a scowl as she stormed out the room, "Kurt doesn't even believe in anything."

Artie frowned hearing not just their words but the implication of something else, of a conversation had before.

"Should-"

"She's right," Kurt replied calmly, " I don't believe in anything. It's hard to believe in a higher power when people hate you for something out of your control."

Artie shifted uncomfortably, the bit of worry in the back in mind coming to front. But Kurt didn't seem to notice, so Artie shook himself out of the move, wheeling up to him. "I need someone to come with me, to help get through to him. I can talk to ghosts, and they said the psychic helps both the living and the dead get their messages across. People are probably going to come as long as he's in town to the show-"

The box in Kurt's hands fell to the floor, and it crushed on side. But Kurt didn't make a move to get it as he suddenly grown pale. "People come to the show?"

"That's the idea." Artie remarked.

"I'll help you," Kurt said quickly, picking up the box, "you just got help me with something."

"That requires telling a secret, and full disclosures to spill said secret."

Kurt cut his eyes at him, but didn't answer as he grabbed the chicken to stick in the freezer.

"When the time's right."

* * *

><p>Step one, Kurt thought to himself as he sat at the Lima Bean straining to listen in to the conversation by the expresso machines. Find out more about the wedding.<p>

He heard the name Finn, but he wanted to confirm it really was the bumbling giant from shop.

Kurt's first instinct was to lie low and forget about the whole thing. It had been a long time since he heard anything about his father and didn't want to open up old wounds. But the news that a psychic was in town, and that his father thought he was dead might work to his advantage. He wondered if there way he could use the psychic to pass on message to his father. But first he had to get some kind of rapport with Finn to do all this maneuvering.

"You need a refill?"

Kurt looked up as Sam appeared in front of him.

"No, I'm good."

"Okay," he shrugged, "You're a friend of Mercedes right?"

Kurt nodded impatiently as he picked up his phone pretending to scroll through contacts,

"Do you happen to know someone named Artie Abrams?"

Phone lowered his phone, he recognized the first name, as well as the sixth sense that told him that wasn't going to like what he had to say.

"Perhaps?"

"He's dead." Sam said bluntly as he rubbed his shoulder, "he died last year in an accident."

"Ah-"

"I didn't want to tell her," Sam said in rush, "it be too weird if I told her."

"But you're telling me," Kurt pointed out.

Sam gulped, his eyes darting about.

A childish yell from across the room saved him as a pair of little kids ran up to him, backpacks dragging behind him.

"Look Sammy," the little girl cried jumping up and down, "I got B on my spelling test!"

"I can't believe he brought them back." Rachel appeared, with a slightly disproving frown. "they're so disruptive."

"Why are they here, if you don't like them," Kurt replied.

He was surprised when Rachel replied, "because it be rude to shoo them. His parents died in a freak accident a few weeks ago, and he came back to work like nothing happened. I mean he was upset, he just didn't let him stop him. Didn't think he had that much drive."

"Maybe he's aspiring for a manager position," Kurt joked.

Rachel gave him a frightening look.

"He better not be," she said before she caught sight of Finn at the counter.

"Finn, found the perfect dress for the wedding! Do you think it be too much if I could sing at the wedding reception. I have several appropriate musical selections that show off the range of my voice."

Finn blinked hard as Rachel swooped upon him, "I think they already hired someone-"

"They don't have anything plan, they keep dragging their heels. Aren't you like the best man or something-"

Rachel chattered on overpowering Finn as she darted around him waving her hands frantically in thought. All while talk circling Finn who was holding the red dress. "I think they just want us to attend, doing all this might be a much-"

Kurt ignored her, his eyes darting back to Sam and his siblings. He wondered even more about his parents' death about his connection with Artie, and even more Mercedes sudden interest in finding out. As he watched Sam to go back to the counter, Kurt's eyes fell on a figure in the window with wonderfully coiffed hair and a scarf on despite the warmness of the day.

The man stared at not Kurt, but at Rachel hungrily, in way that put Kurt on alert for it was both broody and hungry.

"There's a wedding," Kurt asked, throwing himself into their conversation, "I have some expertise in weddings, I used to make all my power rangers get together, it was like Fleetwood Mac."

Finn's face had fallen in confusion while Rachel clapped her hands together, "you're a wedding planner!

"Oh no," Kurt laughed nervously, "I just love weddings, people are generally happy in them."

"They aren't really happy right now," Finn muttered and flinched as Rachel jabbed her elbow into ribs.

"I keep telling you being negative effects everything."

"If," Kurt said keeping an eyes for the man in window who seemed to have disappeared, "I could obtrusive, but why would be that be?"

Finn hesitated.

"Tell him," Rachel said gentler than before. "It could help."

"My mom's fiancée, well he's like a widow, -"

"Widower," Rachel corrected, "that what's it called for men."

"and it's been a long time since then his wife died."

"Twelve years." Kurt said, causing them to look at him, "or something like that imagine, if he's waiting that long to get married to your mother. He must have mourned for sometimes never even gotten over it."

"Well it's not exactly that. He had a son that like disappeared and-"

"We're all pretty sure he's dead," Rachel interjected, "but Mr. Hummel wants to delay the wedding, but putting it off is not good since it's been years already. I think he needs to make peace."

"I didn't want to rush anything," Finn muttered.

Rachel ignored him, showing they apparently had this conversation before as she turned to Kurt, "I offered to take them to a séance, but they refused. Saying it was too woolly for him and probably a scam."

"You did try to get us to see Cats on Broadway even though it's-"

"There's a psychic in town," Kurt remarked, "rumored to be rather good at communicating with ghosts."

"Really."

"I have it on good word. "

They didn't say anything, but that in Kurt's opinion was just a small victory.

Step one down, and as for step two…

* * *

><p>"This is dumb." Artie said suddenly he stared at the door, "maybe I'm just getting mixed up with things I shouldn't."<p>

"Isn't it a bit too late for that?" Mercedes gestured to the group of ghosts standing behind them in weight in the crowded hallway at the theater.

"You said you tried," Tina pointed out, "and if you couldn't get through to the psychic we'll do the translation."

"Still won't help with a show," said a man with bungee cords hanging around his neck.

"But it's a start." Tina added.

With that encouragement, Artie wheeled through the door into the messy dressing room. On the wall was a peeling movie poster and there were faded stains on the wall that look at some points alcohol and other bodily fluids. Will Schuester sat in a chair reading the day's newspaper, idly sipping from a cloudy glass.

From talking with Terri, Artie had learned a few things about the psychic, some which he didn't really need to know, but the gist of things was that quite suddenly a few months ago Schue stopped acknowledging the ghosts he once listened too.

Artie wasn't sure why he thought it would be different with him, but he just had this feeling, feeling similar to what lead him to ending the house with his friends.

He was there long before Schue looked up, "Emma I told you I don't want to be disturbed-"

Schue stared in Artie's direction, seeing through him.

Dropping the newspaper on the broken down couch he looked around, terrified and wary.

"Someone's there isn't there?" He said projecting his words around the room. "Or not." He reached over to grab his drink clenching it tighter than before, "why I am still doing this?"

"Because you care."

Schue dropped the glass.

It shattered across the room, as he looked up shocked. "I heard you. Someone really is here."

There was knock was a tentative knock on the door, "Will," a woman's voices said through the door, "is something wrong? You aren't drinking again are you?"

"No not at all," Schue jumped up shoving the half empty bottle and glass into the dresser drawer. The drawer front fell off to the floor in a thud. "It'll be out in a fifteen, Emma."

"Make that ten, the show's about to show, I can't keep delaying them people won't show. And-"

"I understand, Emma." Schue said as he looked directly Artie, "I'll be there soon."

"Okay." There was soft click of heels and moved away.

Schue moved closer to Artie, "Who are, and why can I suddenly hear you when I can't with the others?"

* * *

><p>"Do you think we should check on him?" Tina asked.<p>

They were sitting in the back of the theater, an allowance Terri let pass since she and the other ghosts were listening into the conversation in the dressing room.

Emma, the perky ginger manager, was whisking around nervously getting the show set up to bother them.

"Wheels will be fine," Mercedes said with a shrug. "He's a bit of fool for doing this, but it'll be fine."

Tina pulled off her sunglasses, "you don't seem surprised that the psychic could hear him."

"I'm not," Mercedes said frankly. "I haven't mentioned it to you guys, but I can't really see Artie like you two do. I mean I see him, but he was transparent."

"Was transparent?" Tina asked, "Like you can see through him?"

"Yeah, transparent, but suddenly he's more solid, much more solid than the other ghosts."

"I think it might just be you," Tina flicked a hand and the pentagram around Mercedes's neck. "I can touch that even though it wards other vampires away, because we have a bond. Could this be same thing?"

"I don't think so, though it is a possibility…."

The lights flickered on the theater as people began to look for their seats.

"Why are we bothering with a psychic anyway?" Mercedes asked suddenly. "Sure the guy helped ghosts, but we don't need to help him."

"I think it's part of a bigger plan," Tina replied, "When Artie mentioned this to Kurt, he had that look in his eye. You know the one that got dressing up as food to make rent. But it can't be that crazy if Artie agrees to it."

"You're kidding right?" Mercedes retorted causing Tina to snort, "I'm actually afraid to ask what it is all about. He's dead can you just imagine what he doesn't think is crazy anymore?"

"Well-"

"Also we don't need thing about him or why he's hanging around."

"Do we even have to know-"

"It's just that I met someone who knew him. Back when he's alive. Said he died in an accident, whatever that means."

"Well don't ask him. Death's a rather personal thing."

"You just don't want to know if one of your-"

The house lights went out and a voice boomed over the loudspeaker:

"My name is Will Schuester and this is my psychic experience."

Tina pulled the sunglasses back on the strobe lights came on, and Mercedes flinched as the cheesy 80s music.

"We seriously aren't staying for this show are we?" She asked, but then didn't get answer as Artie appeared on the stage next to the psychic.

Clearly no one noticed him, but as Tina looked around she spotted a group of ghosts lurking around in the fringes of the theater they seemed to be paying rapt attention to the stage, their whispers and chatter subdued for once.

"I have a feeling," Tina remarked as Artie gestured for a ghost to step forward, "We don't want to miss this."

"I sense a presence among us, our first otherworldly visitor," Schue said placing a hand to his head, "who name is, who name is…."

"Ken." Artie supplied.

"Ken?" Schue voice jumped up a bit, and from backstage, the ginger manager pokes her head out pulling off the headset. "Ken is comes kindly with a message."

From the crowd off ghost, a squat greasy man stepped forward, "I just wanted to tell you M&M that…"

"Good grief," Mercedes muttered, "not this nonsense."

Tina shushed her, but Mercedes merely instead got out of their seats going into the hallway.

Tina glanced back at the stage where Artie was repeating back the lines for Schue, who promptly relayed them to the audience, before she went to follow Mercedes.

"What utter and complete crap," Mercedes repeated forcibly as she stood in the hall, "it's so ridiculous."

She had turned away, and she had fumbled with her purse.

"You lost someone didn't you," Tina asked, "That's what drove you into this?"

"Matt was a childhood friend of mine. We weren't that close, especially after middle school. He disappeared one day, and later that week they found him drained. You know I didn't want to believe, but I started seeing things, and suddenly I couldn't stay away. Now I'm sharing a house with a ghost, vampire, and a werewolf, and we're at place where a psychic is actually communicating with people, and who knows what else is out there? Zombies?"

"You still human," Tina said, "you can leave, we're not forcing you, it might," she added thinking of her run in with Jesse at the hospital, "it might even be safer if you did."

Mercedes snorted, "Like I leave you guys, you can't even keep milk in the fridge without me."

There were words on her tongue to say something comforting but in truth she couldn't breathe a word. If she said anything it would be lie, they all were all going to leave her one day.

"I'll have to cut out," Mercedes said as she looked up from her phone. "tell me how everything goes."

Tina went back into the theater but didn't take a seat, standing in front of the closed door.

"….and because he loves you, Ken wants you to know Emma," Schue said paused as he glanced at Artie who nodded, "that Carl's cheating on you with a substitute teacher."

There was gasp in the crowd, none as loud as the stage manager who finally came out on stage. Her eyes wide and faced flushed the swung her hand back and slapped him soundly before running off the stage in tears.

As Schue broke character calling after her, Tina was distracted from something else going on. A bright light had filled the theater, a light that the audience seemed to ignored, but a light that Ken seemed to stare at with great intensity. Slowly but surely he walked up the aisle to the open door.

He paused at the door seeing that Tina could see him. There was fear in his eyes, fear as well as relief and as if finally making his peace.

"Good luck," she whispered and he nodded, before stepping into doorway and shutting the door behind him.

As the theater fell back into darkness, Tina was brought back as Schue tried to end his show on a solid note, even as the waiting ghosts began to make outcry wanting their turns.

"They should wait in the backroom," a voice said next to her, "wait their turn. 'All the world's a stage' after all."

"But we aren't just mere players." Tina remarked as she turned to Jesse. "Are you following me around? This isn't an all you can eat restaurant."

He ignored her, "I don't get why you associated with inferior creatures. First humans, than werewolves, and now ghosts."

"Don't make me cause a scene,' Tina said sweetly.

"You won't because you're trying to blend in, but you'll never blend in when your past is already there to haunt you."

Tina froze.

"Shelby," Jesse sung the name tauntingly, "looks the same as she did all those years ago, and her daughter is a splittingly image-"

"Don't you-"

"I'm not afraid of you," Jesse said as he moved away placing a hand on the auditorium door as he made to leave, "just don't get attached to your little pets. They all go away one day. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

_Crack._

"How bad was that?" Artie asked.

"Horrible," Tina replied at once pulling a mask over her features as she turned to face, "the show may end early."

He put his head in hands, "I was just trying to help. Why does everything turn out wrong?"

"You got a ghost through a door." Tina pointed out.

"I nearly brought the house down."

"You're not really much phantom of the opera type."

He looked up, perplexed.

"I have to fix this," he muttered, "I knew I should have started with someone else."

_Crack._

"What a surprise to see you here!"

Tina nearly jumped out her skin, as she caught sight of Rachel dragging along Finn by the arm.

"You're Mercedes's roommate aren't you?" Rachel said brightly, "we ran into her on the way out, she said you could fill us in on the details."

Forcing a smile, Tina silently cursed her friend, "Details about what?"

"The psychic of course," Rachel shook Finn's arm lightly. He looked about comfortable about this as Tina felt.

"I think the show's over though," Tina glanced back at the stage. "for now at least."

"Good we can go-" Finn tried to leave, but with a smile plastered on her face she jerked his arm back keeping him locked in place.

"When's the show's going to start again? We wanted to bring someone with us tomorrow."

_Crack._

"Try the end of the week." Artie said. "After the full moon so Kurt can be here."

"I heard Saturday would be the better," Tina said quickly, "you won't want to miss it."

She glanced back at Artie was making gestures to wrap this up.

"The most unusual things happen."

* * *

><p>Kurt had picked Artie and Tina from the theater, eager to find out what had happened with the psychic and if Rachel and Finn had actually end up going.<p>

Eagerly Artie talked how he managed to make contacts with the psychic and confidante to get the man to let him translate the ghosts requests for him why they discover the source of his problem. They only managed to talk with one ghosts given some upset, but-

"It's was fine. A Door appeared," Artie finished in a rush.

"A door?" Kurt asked, looking away from the road, he glanced away from the rearview mirror over to the passenger seat where Tina sat staring at her nails. "What are you talking about?"

"He managed to cross over."

Kurt had a feeling he was missing something, and given the composed expression on their faces he had a funny feeling about it. "When you say you're helping people, you're helping them how?"

"It's not ordinary door," Artie said quietly, "on the other side is Death."

"But you're already dead," Kurt protested his voice rising in pitch, "what else is there?"

Tina looked away, shoving the sunglasses on her face, while Artie looked at him gravely.

"I can't answer that question for you," Artie said, "And I don't think you want the answer I could give you."

He was right, but Kurt wasn't willingly to admit it and because the questioned remained hanging in the air.

"It's your father you're trying to get to see the psychic aren't you?"

Kurt jerked out of his thoughts at the sound of Tina's voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kurt replied.

Tina snorted as she turned on the radio, "He confessed you put him up to this, and I don't think either myself or Mercedes are going to this wedding unless you fess up to-"

The volume rose sharply emitting sounds that wasn't more of shrieking voices than music, as the lights flashed in the car. Kurt clutched his hands over his ears, forgetting for a moment about the care in motion. A horn blared at them, and Kurt yanked the wheel pulling them into a ditch as he cut the car's ignition.

"What the hell," Kurt muttered staring at the dashboard, "was that?"

"That wouldn't be the best choice of words," Artie muttered.

"I think it's a surge of paranormal activity, "Tina added, her voicing darkening, "Do you even know what you're doing with the ghosts?"

"They don't exactly give you a rule book for such things." Artie replied his attempt at humor falling flat.

"Let's just get back," Kurt said as he squirmed in the seat unwillingly to take on the implication of driving a possessed car.

They nodded in agreed and Kurt switched the car back on and they continued on in radio silence.

* * *

><p>The next morning Kurt woke up to find the coffee pot missing. Completely missing, as it left a round circle of pale countertop where the appliance once was.<p>

He held a hand over it hoping in vain, Mercedes might have accidently casted a concealing charm again to reserve some of the coffee grounds, but alas it was gone.

Kurt turned away from the counter as Tina entered the kitchen.

"Oh no," she said removing her sunglasses, "that's gone too."

"What else is gone?"

"Of importance? The TV but lots of smaller electronics are gone."

Kurt forgotten about the coffee pot, "were we robbed or something?"

"I don't know," Tina murmured as the entered the living where the gaping hole where the Tv once was stood.

"But they didn't take anything of value."

"What do you two have of value?" Kurt murmured.

Before Tina could replied there as yell from the kitchen, "where's the coffee pot!" Mercedes stormed into the room.

"We may have thief, and as much as I hate involving the police-" he went to closet to pull out his coat, only to stop when he realized what was in the closet wasn't just coats.

Kurt barely dumped way to avoid getting hit by a clock, he cries of distress attracting the girls' attention.

Together all three of them stared at all their electronics stuffed in a closet along with a note written in Artie's neat handwriting hanging on the light bulb to not plug anything in.

"I'm going to kill him," Mercedes muttered.

"You can't kill him," Tina said amusedly, "he's already dead."

"That's won't be a problem," Mercedes slammed the door shut before Kurt could grab the coffee pot.

Her diatribe was cut short as the sound of wheels hit the hardwood floor.

Artie came to a halt in the hallway, looking a bit sheepish as they started at him with the unhooked toaster in his lap.

"Oops," he muttered and before Mercedes could lunge at him, he popped out of sight, wheelchair and all, the toaster hitting the floor with a clatter.

"You're not going to run from me Wheels!" Mercedes yelled to the ceiling. A bump from above proved he was up there, and she ran up the stairs after him.

Artie popped back into the living room, placed the toaster on the coffee table, and disappeared once again as Mercedes ran back into the room.

She stumbled and jabbed a finger at Tina, who was convulsing in giggles on the couch.

"Go find him," Mercedes stammered, "he'll listen to you!"

"About what? Plugging appliances in?"

"You know that's not what this is about."

Tina put her shades back on, "I'm not having that conversation with him, he haven't he told us what killed him in the first place."

"You haven't either," Kurt pointed out.

Tina grinned her fangs glistening as a slight challenge, "do you want to me to tell you?"

"Forget about it," Kurt reached into the closet pulling out a his coat, he knocked out a alarm clock to ht floor. "I'm going to get some coffee. Until Caspar changes his mind."

"Don't call him that!"

Kurt waved a hand as he left picking up his bag as he went into the kitchen, noticing chicken was defrosting in the sink, he picked it up and put it in the freezer.

"Speaking of minds, Rachel and Finn are going to bring your father to the psychic on Saturday."

"Father?" Mercedes asked, "what's gong on?"

"Kurt's father getting married. He apparently ran out on him years ago and wants to use a psychic to pass on a message from beyond instead of being up to him like a normal person."

He slammed the door, "I'm not a normal person, I have this curse on me," Kurt waved the frozen chicken around, "I'm something society will never accept."

"You don't even accept yourself," Tina retorted turning away, "how do you expect society too?"

"You're one to talk, since that's your excuse for not even go out on drinks with a human!"

"So what if I do!

Tina stormed out leaving Mercedes looking on hesitantly.

"I've been meaning to ask, what are you going to do with the chicken? I was going to make dinner with that."


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

* * *

><p>Artie returned to the house later that day to find the house quiet, even though all three occupants were about.<p>

He could hear them. Kurt in the kitchen shuffling around, preparing a bag for the full moon. Mercedes in the basement rolling back the pentagram that she hid from the others. Tina pacing in her room.

They were all there, but there was the engery surroding him, that warned him away. He couldn't help but think it was his fault, since this probably wouldn't have happened if he moved eveyrhting around, but he had a good reason for.

"You're paranoid."

The tv had snapped on, the newscaster shuffling his papers. "Sure it was the just car radio, but there are other things. They're very angry with you Mr. Abrams, you're meddling with Death's door. Rushing the sped of your bretheren's accepatance, it's simply not done, using a psychic. Why do you think we're blocking his senses."

If he wasn't already dead, he would have felt a chill come down his spine, but instead, Artie grabbed the remote clicking off the televeison.

The radio's light blinked on.

"That won't work you know. We have powers from beyond and everything. And you need to stop meedling with other's afterlives, and worry about your own. We're waiting for you."

The tv flickered back, as the rest of the lights in the room began to flash on and off.

"We're waiting for you…."

"Stop!"

"What?" Mercedes stood in the doorway, puzzled as she stared about the room. The electricity had stopped flickering, although the furntiue had moved a slightly, cabitients doors flung open. "What's going on."

"Nothing." He said, 'just paranormal activity."

"You're not a polergist though." Mercedes said, "unless something-"

"Nothing happened."

"And all the eltectroncis moved on their own. What go you spooked Wheels?"

He did't answer and Mercedes took it as her cue to press on, abruptly switching tactics, "why don't you ever go to the coffee shop?"

"I can't drink it?"

"But you make cups and cups of it," Mercedes frowned, "maybe it's a repressed memory of something or someone."

"Like I worked in a coffee shop before?" he joked but suddenly the room faded way into flickers of a coffee shop, located in somewhere much colder than Lima, where between shifts he tried to knock over stacked coffee cups with-

A wolf's snarling face burst into his line of sight and he started rocking backwards as the memories bored down him.

"What's wrong?"

Mercedes was in front him, looking as frightened as she was last time around the fool moon. Looking as scared when he first appeared.

He closed his eyes and when he opened them he was out in the street in front of a Lima Bean.

He waited out there as people walked passed him wondering why he ended up here, but got distracted when a something stepped out to sweep in front of the shop and thought it was Shelby for a moment.

No not Shelby. The young woman swept with evening paying him a glance.

"Rachel, we're out of tall cups."

She sighed picking up the broom, "Finn, did you check the storeroom?"

"I did and there not there."

She went back inside, and Artie followed in suit wondering what connection Shelby had to this barista.

"Sorry, I'm late-" Sam slid to a stop on the doorway his eyes widening as he spoited Artie. "what are you doing here?"

"I work here," Finn said from the counter, "dude what's wrong?"

"You're dead," Sam stammered, "I went to your funeral, I saw what happened that night, I was there."

"Sam," Finn said, "no one's there."

But Sam was staring at Artie was starting in turn.

"How can you see me?"

Sam however didn't answer but turned running out the coffee shop, even as Finn called after him, knocking over a stack of display cups.

Watching as the cups fell to the ground, he saw another cup fall, and he was suddenly standing outside in a park a full moon above him, and video equipment in hand.

_We're hunting hounds. Or at least that mysterious wolf we keeping getting reports on….. _

A moonlit night and he stood before a growling beast….

Absently his hand fell on the on the long jagged scar across his chest that he thought came from the accident earlier in his former life, but as he touched it now he could see the memories aligning him.

A wolf had attacked him that night taking his life in an horrible accident. But he wasn't alone either. There was someone else with him that fateful night and it was all starting to come together.

He closed his eyes and he was back in the house where Mercedes was grumbling at the near empty freezer.

"I can't believe he took it."

"Mercedes."

She jumped hard bumping into the freezer door.

"Where's everyone?"

"Gone. Kurt doing his thing as you might have guess."

"And Tina?"

Mercedes shut the freezer door avoiding his gaze. "She went out."

"To work?"

Mercedes bit her lip, "Yes. Why?"

"I need to talk to her. Oh," he paused, "how did you know? About Sam?"

"I work with him don't I? He's better to talk to than Rachel or Finn."

"And I guess you wouldn't be that worried since you've been dealing with Kurt."

She laughed a bit, "what are you taking about? Sam? He's nothing like Kurt."

"Oh," Artie replied wondering if he said too much, "you don't know then."

"Know about what?"

* * *

><p>Kurt walked deep in the woods dragging a chicken on a string trying to make a circle in the most inhabited part of the woods.<p>

Mercedes had raised quite a stink when he told her about his plans for the chicken, insisting what he saw on TV show was not going to work. Secretly he agreed but he had to do something. Because he couldn't risk the hospital tonight nor doing it at home again.

The chicken caught on branch, and Kurt snarled as he want to unhook it. Maybe he should have listen when Mercedes said the chicken was best left in the kitchen. But he to do this he had to keep it, the beast separate for his normal life.

Unhooking the chicken he continued on finish the circling, and double back to bury the raw meat in the middle.

Dusting off his hands he headed out the circle back to the to the car parked some distance in the woods, where he made sure his spare clothes were left in the gym bag and buried the key into the dirt underneath.

Glancing at his watch, his hands were shaking.

He always locked himself in room when this happened, he never let himself loose into the world. But with the ward still close and unwillingly to do it his home, his options were limited.

A dog howled some distance away, and he shivered.

Kurt liked things neat. He liked things with a certain order. None of this had any sense of order with too many things that could go wrong with uncontrollable variables.

Like his father.

His father cared to much, even in his own gruff way. He would have picked up on this schedule, picked up on the sudden increase of meat, both white and red, that was never before. So he ran wanting to protect them both because he couldn't stand the rejection.

So he was afraid.

But he wasn't sure what he was exactly afraid of anymore.

* * *

><p>Mike didn't hesitate when she abruptly came up to him during a break, asking if he wanted to grab a quick drink. That drink, quickly devolved into them making out in a supply closet. Bumping against the bandages and bottles knocking over buckets and mop.<p>

Tina couldn't explain how they ended up in here, maybe it reaction to Kurt's words, even her succumbing to her own primal desire, but whatever it was it felt good to let loose. To let go the restraint of staying apart to embrace, to dive into the passion…

As her fangs slid out she found herself looking on a familiar face over Mike's shoulder.

"Artie?" she exclaimed.

"What was that?" Mike pulled back as he stared her.

"Nothing." She jumped off him, pulling down her shirt. Artie was gone, he had to be around…. "I'm sorry, I gotta go."

She dashed down the hallway, to see Artie rolling through the various staff in the hallway, despite the fact he could just vanish from spot.

Weaving her way through them, she cornered him in hall leading out to an emergency exit.

"What was that about," she called to the back of his head, "what were you doing there?"

He placed his hands on the wheels before he turns around with a disapproving expression. "I should ask you that."

"Well don't," Tina said stiffly, "I'm a big girl."

"Who almost fell off the wagon."

"I wasn't, I didn't-" she stuttered as she jammed a finger at him, "I was in control of the situation!"

Pity flashed across Artie's face, at the crack in her voice. "You deal with permanently don't you, all the blood lust? You can't just go cold turkey, you need blood to survive-"

"I don't," she cut in feeling the echo of conversation with Jesse, "and don't tell me what to do-"

"Because one day I'll be gone, ashes to ashes," Artie shrugged, "I don't think you'll miss me though."

_Crack._

"Damnit, Artie," Tina yelled to the empty hallway, "would you stop being unreasonable!"

"That's your ex's name isn't?"

She turned to see Mike behind her, looking rather sheepish. Surprised to not only to see she was followed she even more so by the fact he didn't she was insane. Perhaps she was. Her mind flashed back to the closet, about what was she was doing, what she almost did.

"Um," she licked her lips looking away.

"I get it, it's cool you felt odd talking about, I shouldn't have pressed. I don't want to be a rebound and you should work out what issues you might have," he said earnestly, "I want the real thing."

With a sinking stomach Tina smiled faintly, "You might have to wait a while."

"I'm good at waiting."

Not that good, she commented to herself.

Standing in the hallway she rubbed her arms, feeling suddenly quite tired as the years fell on her. She seen much she was turned seen many people, many places, but she was suddenly gripped by what Artie meant by his parting words. She had grown fond of the small family she gathered in that house, and probably more fond of the inhabitants than she cared to admit.

Yet could she willfully stop them leaving her just because she didn't want to be alone, because that's how this story will end.

* * *

><p>The next morning Kurt woke up in tattered clothes on the moss ground, covered in dirt and staring across in a face.<p>

A very familiar face.

"Oy!" Kurt exclaimed, as Sam jerked awaked from where slept, and didn't hesiste to run out of the woods.

Kurt followed in suit, not caring for the state of his clothes for once as suddenly everything he heard in passing from Mercedes or not paid attention suddenly made sense. There was a reason he felt drawn to Sam, a reason of connection he couldn't help but shake. Someone just like him.

The others had their own communities, contact have made with others similar to them. But Kurt, he didn't have anyone he related too, no one not even the bastard that gave him the curse in the first place to learn and understand this thing that a few books written by people with poor imagination and even worse grammar

Kurt stumbled into the clearing were Sam was struggling to find his keys, the blood and dirt on his clothes making is actions appear even more frenzied.

"I know what you are, and I'm not going to run after you anymore in these shoes!"

"What am I?" Sam asked.

"You're like me," Kurt said, and seeing the parts of fright and relief in Sam's face, for the first the time Kurt found able to spit out the words, "A werewolf," Kurt said haltingly, "you are a werewolf just like me."

* * *

><p>Artie sat in the hospital lunchroom, unnoticed by occupants.<p>

Death was all around them, the ghosts passing by, crossing over next stage. He was sure he spotted at least one vampire before since he started visiting, but tonight there wasn't.

He was just by himself in a sea of humans.

He wasn't sure why he was still here, Tina had long stormed off. And while he toyed with the idea of being a poltergeist to Mike Chang, he dismissed at being childish, after all the human was the root of his troubles.

He was.

It was just like when he was alive, falling for a girl who didn't reciprocate his feelings, expect this time it was much worse. Not only was Tina his housemate, she was closet he ever had, living or dead.

Now that he gone and screwed everything.

It served him right for following her. Even more it was clear just like she had always said it didn't matter if anyone of them was around.

Sighing he watched as a blonde entered bounced around the cafeteria with a cup asking for donations to Feline Aids. She rattled the cup under everyone noses, some handing over the money reluctantly.

It was only when she stopped in front of Artie did he take real notice of her .

"Donation for a good cause, please!"

He ignored her gaze, turning away when she rattled it in her nose like all the others.

"Everyone should donate."

Artie blinked and realized she could seem him while no one else did. In fact a few of patients were looking at her strangely. For a moment he wonder is she wans't an intern byt a mental patient that had wondered free.

"I don't have any money."

But instead of leaving, she wrinkles her nose childishly and sits down next to him. "Are you a robot or something, because you looking weird, all patchy and stuff."

"I'm not a robot." He said but she takes it with a shrug.

"Well something bothering you, do you need any oil?"

"Uusally people don't notice me."

"No one notice anyone really," the intern said cheerfully, "you only notice the special people. Like how I notice Santanta, and she notices me. Everyone noticed everyone else no one would be special."

"And if those people wanted you to go away?"

Brittany frowned, "why you want to go away. That's when all the fun ends."

She bounced away sweeping to collect more donations, leaving Artie to puzzle the rather unexpected conversation.

Humanity was full of many strange things he realized. In the year that he had been dead he wandered around and seen many horrible things by chance. But he had forgotten the kindness of strangers, even the kindness from those who seemed lost in their own little world.

He had drifted into the house with the others, because he was looking for a change. From something that made him feel human, feel alive again. He thought it was helping the ghosts, with Tina and Kurt's problems. But he was wrong, they were all wrong. Humanity wasn't the enemy, nor it was about sacrifice. It was more than that, much more powerful than that. It brought people together, it tore them apart, ends lives, saved souls. Humanity, being human, was how you made your mark on the world on others in your own way.

And this dotty hospital intern just showed him that as she tried to con money for Feline AIDS.

Settling in his chair, Artie looked around to see that the intern had brought her doctor girlfriend back with her who looking both angry and confused.

Time to go.

As he turned he saw not the exit of the cafeteria, but a wooden door made of dark oak with scrapes that would only come from a wheelchair.

Suddenly the cafeteria full of people felt impossibly empty as he stared at the door that he knew was for him.

A door that had finally appeared.

_We're waiting for you…_

Drawn he wheeled up towards it, a his hand outstretched-


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

* * *

><p>"I guessed at it," Sam admitted as they sat in the tiny kitchen of the apartment he shared with his siblings. In the background Kurt could hear the soft sounds from the television in the other room. Before Kurt was untouched cup of juice in a faded cup. "About you. Your friends would joke about your time of the month, you were always grumpy around the moon. I was interested, fascinated with you. But then I always wanted something to take me from the ordinary world."<p>

"Don't tell me," Kurt said, "you went seeking-"

Sam shook his head, his blond hair flying about. "It happened last year. A friend of mine heard about a strange wolf lurking in the woods and he wanted to film it. I was along for the ride. We found the wolf alright. He died… and I didn't. I tried to forget and then the first night-"

"Was a nightmare," Kurt said softly.

Sam nodded. "I was lucky no one was around. Once I figured things out, I figured I could hide. I often worked nights so this didn't change things, and I wasn't really settled down anywhere. It was fine until my parents... I've been terrified about what going to happen to my brother and sister, they need me."

Kurt looked over where Stacy and Stevie sat in front to the TV. Stacy looked over with the intelligence of a child who knew something was wrong despite all attempts at trying otherwise.

"I promise I'd take care them, I can't let my parents down."

"Why didn't you," Kurt said steering the conversation so something he could handle, "ask me?"

Sam shrugged. "I guessed that you might be a werewolf, but it didn't mean it was true. You can't always assume something about someone just because of outward appearances."

Kurt eyes darted to Sam's hair, causing him to frown slightly.

"Dude," he said almost wearingly, "I don't dye my hair."

"I'll take your word for it." Kurt said, but Sam didn't seem appeased.

"What do you plan to do about it? With your siblings to look after now?"

"I don't know," Sam admitted burying his face in his hands, "I don't know what to do. It's only once month, but it's always there."

"And you never run away from it."

Kurt put aside his drink to place his hands on top of Sam's.

"But you can," Kurt said, "Look for some outside help."

* * *

><p>"I thought they never leave," Mercedes muttered to Rachel. Although she was annoyed to draw the closing with the diva, it was comforting having someone along. Once you accepted the world to have vampire and werewolves you get comfortable to have someone you know at your back.<p>

Picking up the coffee pots she went into the back to start washing, glancing up at the reflective chrome to make a face at her hair. Between everything that was going on with her friends, she hadn't really paid attention to herself. Though admittedly it with three supernaturals as roommates it was hard enough to keep up with them, as she speculated mostly on what they were up to most of the time. Some of Kurt's past was coming clear with this psychic business, and she had glimmer and what caused Artie to quasi-haunt their home, but as for Tina, Mercedes was starting to think her past would never be clear to anyone.

Reaching to turn the tap on, she heard the door ring, and voices in the front.

She looked over her shoulder to see Rachel talking to young man with curly hair. He toyed with his scarf as they spoke. Given how Rachel squealed he probably mentioned Broadway of something.

Rolling her eyes, Mercedes rinsing off the pot, only to drop when something hit her like a ton of bricks. There was only one reflection in the glass.

A scream came from the room. Mercedes ran out with the pot and threw it at the broadway vampire.

It hit him, but didn't stop him as he pulled Rachel closer to him.

Mercedes e pulled the pendant from around her neck, and swung it hat him.

The broadway vampire leapt back from Rachel at the sight of the pentagram but didn't make a move to flee just yet.

"Scram," Mercedes sputtered, "get out of here!"

"I'm not a pest."

"You're sure act like one," she waved the pendant at him, and the vampire hissed. "Say something," Mercedes said to Rachel who was staring clutching her neck, "say something religious. Power of belief weakness them."

"I can't think of anything!"

"Sing something then!"

Quietly Rachel began to sing her voice, something that was vaguely familiar to Mercedes but she didn't have time to think about what it was. Rachel's voice growing stronger as the vampire backed away out the shop.

When he was gone, Rachel abruptly stopped singing clutching her hands to her mouth as she ran into the back room.

Mercedes followed keeping an eye on the door, as Rachel heaved into the toilet.

"What was that, who was that?"

"Would you believe me if I told you?" Mercedes asked.

Rachel still holding her hair up, shook her head, "it's nothing like Twilight."

Mercedes forced a laugh. "Why don't you try Buffy." She patted her manager on the shoulder, "I'll drive you home."

Though she surmised she didn't she would getting much sleep.

As Mercedes grabbed their purses, she saw another visitor through the window, Tina. She was across the street, but she could see her yelling at Jesse threatening him.

Quite suddenly, Mercedes remembered two things. One that Artie mentioned there was ghost that looked a great deal like Rachel, and two Tina had never stepped foot in the coffee shop after her first time visiting here.

And just as she bought to go out there, Tina pulled back and struck him across the chest. She moved back as the vampire disintegrated into ashes.

Her cell phone rang, the notes of some musical Kurt liked filling the air shattering the silence.

"Mercedes," Kurt said whispering into the phone, "I need you."

"Why?" Mercedes asked watching as Tina stormed away.

"Tonight's the night."

"Okay. I'll be there." Mercedes shut the phone, and braced herself against the counter.

In her mind's eyes she replayed the incident over and over, until she shook herself firmly reminding herself of Kurt's call.

"Do you mind we take a detour first?" Mercedes said as Rachel came in pale and shaken, "I promised a friend I'll be there at a psychic show."

* * *

><p>"I can't do this," Kurt paced backstage, pivoting dramatically for the watching ghosts as he pulled at his scarf. "What was I thinking?"<p>

"It sounds pretty crazy," Sam said as he sat on a upturn crate, "tricking your dad with a psyhic."

Kurt gave him a stony glare and Sam was saved when his sister tugged his arm.

"Can we go get sit in the audience?"

Sam nodded and Stacy and Stevie run off into the theater. A matronly ghost trailed after them and winked at Sam.

"I can't believe he didn't show," Kurt muttered, " he promised he show. He's the only one that can talk to the psychic!"

"Keep your voice down," Terri shimmered through the wall, "I looked around the area, he can't be found. You little puppies need to go to the dressing room soon, the ginger is on her way."

"I'm waiting for my friend."

"I'm here," Mercedes entered with a pale looking Rachel in tow. "what's going on?"

"He's not here," Kurt folded against himself, "Artie's not here, and he's not outside in the audience! Tina's out looking for him,"

Sam saw Mercedes flinch, but Kurt was too preoccupied to notice.

"Why do we have to go these hoops anyway," Mercedes cut in , "why can't you just talk to your father?"

"Because he thinks I'm dead, I don't want to give him another heart attack. It's better he thinks I 'm dead," Kurt clutched his chest wringing the fabric of his clothes, "because I can't tell him I ran off because of this …curse."

"I can tell you're scared," Rachel said as she reached out towards him, "but you're living a lie, you can help like medication-they're making improvements on treatments for HIV all the time!"

"Really?" Kurt pulled back from her,"you have gay dads! Stop with the stereotypes."

"If you afraid of the stigma," Rachel asked, "why run away?"

"Sometimes when you're with people like yourself, you feel like you belong."

Tina shuffled in her hands tucked in the pockets of her jacket. "I'm sorry, I couldn't find him."

"Did you have a fight or something," Mercedes asked, "you can always find him."

"I think," Tina said quietly, her voice trembling "I think he's gone."

"What does mean it," Rachel asked aloud as Mercedes went to embrace Tina, as Kurt's expression froze. "What does it mean he's gone, did he go home or something? Can we expect not to see them?"

"I think," Sam tried to interrupt placidly, "it means he-"

"He's a coward!" Kurt snarled.

"Or maybe you are," Mercedes spat, "you won't admit what you are. Not even to yourself!"

"This isn't some AA meeting you're in charge of," Kurt snapped, "You can't cure what we have!"

"I'm not trying to cure you, and it was Tina's idea to get the house, to have all of us live together."

"I'm just as much as human as you, as anyone else is. I'm not ashamed of myself!"

"Then," Mercedes reared back, "say it out loud, say it to me right now!"

"I'm a werewolf," Kurt blurted out as Rachel started, "a flaming gay werewolf, are you happy!"

"No." Mercedes smiled suddenly, "but I'm getting there."

"I'm just like him," Sam said suddenly drawing their attention, "just like him."

"You're gay!" Mercedes exclaimed as Rachel cried out, "you're a werewolf!"

Sam's smile became affixed even as Kurt was staring at him in a new light, "Yes," he said hesitantly. "I thought it was obvious."

"You're both werewolves," Rachel stammered as she looked around, "and-"

"Vampire," Tina said offhandedly, "since FDR was president."

Rachel shuddered, "and you're a Wiccan aren't you, I saw the pentagram."

Mercedes shrugged. "Guilty."

Rachel steeled herself before she suddenly clapped her hands together in glee.

"This is just like Buffy! This is perfect for my upcoming audition, as the protagonist is shocked by the surprises that her friends bestow on her. Thank you so much for this experience," she embraced Kurt, who all but shrugged her off.

"We're not friends!"

Rachel didn't seem deterred as went to hug each of them. "I can't wait to tell Finn about this-"

"No! You can't!" Kurt calmed.

"I won't be caught lying." Rachel said over Tina's shoulders, "I'm going to tell-"

"Artie." Tina whispered.

"My boyfriend's name's Finn."

But no one was paying attention to her.

Artie sat in the doorway, sheepishly looking at them his hands resting on the wheels of his chair.

"Hey." Sam said.

"Hey," Artie a slight flip of his hand.

Rachel turned her head around wondering what everyone was staring at as Artie wheeled before them.

"You're the friend in the story," Kurt said. "You idiots went looking for werewolves!"

"I wanted to feel alive," Artie said calmly, his words directed at the group but his eyes on Tina, "but it's funny I died one year ago. but in some ways that's when my life began. Fighting over rent, groceries, stupid house rules, bugging each other at work. For all we talk about being monsters, about need to hide, I think with you guys I witnessed the very best of being human. "

Tina sniffed, "I thought you left."

"Not anytime soon. I hope. " he smiled, "if you guys want me around."

Rachel gasped, "is there a ghost here too?"

"What's going on?"

Finn stood in the parting curtain, while behind him was-

Kurt emitted a small sqeak as he ducked behind Tina, but it too late.

"Kurt."

The elder Hummel's voice carried in the room and nearly all the occupants wanting to vanish. The watching ghosts had disappeared and Sam looked rather nervous as the heat of Burt gaze filled the room.

"I just, I ... how much did you hear?"

"Enough for me to feel foolish for thinking you ran off because of something I did, that I wouldn't expect, come on Rachel, you and Finn can watch the show but I think Carole and I will leave early."

"Wait," Kurt sputtered, "I can explain!"

"I thought you were dead, that some of those guys that were bothering got you for good." Burt said without turning around, "I harassed the police to get them to investigate, and the hospital records not you checked in but never out. You didn't leave a note, didn't call. What I'm suppose to think?"

"I was trying to protect you."

Burt turned around, "you're dead wrong about that. I'm your father I'm the one's that supposed to protect you no matter how old you get, no matter what you do. Love you no matter who you are and who you're with."

Kurt swallowed, "I'm gay-"

"I know, I knew since you were four."

"I'm done yet," Kurt said his voice starting to shake, " these are my friends, Mercedes she's a practicing wiccan, Tina's a vampire, you can't see him but Artie's a ghost, and Sam, he's just like me, a werewolf."

Finn's eyes were as saucers in the background "Werewolf?"

"I'll explain," Rachel said, tugging him back to the theather, leaving Burt staring at Kurt and the others.

"Okay," Burt said slowly, "is this some kind of cult?"

"No, no," Kurt said, "they're my roommates, except for Sam, we came together trying to stay human."

"You're though," Burt said, "werewolves right, they change with the moon, and stuff."

Burt didn't seem convinced and Tina strode up to him, drawing out her fangs her eyes darkening to pupiless black. Burt jumped back only to start, when he accidentally walked through Artie.

"What was that a chill, what are-" he sputtered glanine at Tina to Kurt and Sam.

"I know this is a lot to take in Mr. Hummel," Mercedes said, "but Kurt's in good hands."

"I'll take your word for it."

The lights flickered above, "This is Will Schuester and this is my psychic experience!"

"I got to go," Artie said only to stop as the introduction continued on.

"I sense a presence who's looking for someone by the name of Sebastian …."

"Or not," Artie crorrected.

"Looks like the show's starting," Tina said a proud smile, "let's go watch."

"Forget about the show," Burt said staring at his son, "I don't think it'll be half as exciting as the story you're about to tell me."

* * *

><p>"See, he took it rather well," Mercedes said they all pulled up to the house much later, "no pitchforks, no tar and feathers, you could have told them from the start."<p>

"But then," Tina said, "none of us would have met."

"A grand community of the lost we are." Kurt said sarcastically, "we're such a great group of people that we're spending the evening watching movies and eating greasy popcorn."

"You forgot scrabble," Artie interjected.

Kurt cut his eyes at him and exited the car.

As Mercedes headed after him, into the house, Tina hung back for a moment and subsequently so did Artie.

"I'm sorry you thought I left."

Tina looked away from the lights in the house, back to Artie.

"Well it's going to happen eventually. Getting your affairs in order, making peace and all that. You can't stick around like a shadow for all eternity."

"I can if you're here."

If Tina's heart could still beat, it would have skipped. If she had pulse it would have starting thumping faster. Suddenly the incident at the hospital came into greater focus. But she knew he meant every word, but she couldn't, she just couldn't allow herself that feeling. "No you can't, Artie. This is different, I'm a vampire, and you're a ghost."

"That's an excuse."

"I've killed people, murdered them in cold blood, gave people this," she gestured at herself, "no matter how long I stop feeding on human blood, it will never change that." She turned away from him, "So I can't have you hang on my account."

_Crack._

Artie appeared in front on her, and appeared solid enough to stop her from leaving.

"You've been dead over fifty years," Artie said fiddling with his glasses, "I know what you're about to say, watching our friends die, watching the world change drastically, seeing all the suffering that people do over and over without learning anything, but no one should go through life alone."

"It," Tina stuttered, "it's just that it can't last. We want it to, but it can't. It's just can't. Our friends, this house, this arrangement, is going to be gone one day. They're going to die, you're going to pass through the door, and maybe if I'm lucky I'll get staked. All this is temporary. It's not going to last, and maybe it shouldn't."

"Isn't that what being human's all about?" Artie asked quietly.

"I suppose," Tina said a smile pulling at her lips despite her mood, "next you're going to tell me we need to enjoy things while they last or tomorrow they will be gone?"

"Well there's no trick to being human."

"You know," Tina said bending forward resting her hands on the wheelchair that felt so solid and real, "no matter how hard you try you aren't going to save me. I doomed depending whatever higher power you're hoping for behind the door."

He grinned slightly, "You can't blame a guy for trying can you?"

"No," She leaned forward kissing him, feeling something maybe not quite solid as she pressed her lips to his, "but thank you for trying."

He didn't say anything, but smiled broadly and it made her feel giddy with something akin to happiness.

"Hey, you two," Kurt leaned out the doorway, "stop trying to prove the ghost-vampire barrier and get in here. I invited Sam over and he wants to see_ Avatar_ but Mercedes wants _Titanic_, and I don't know what I want to torture myself with more."

Artie rolled up the doorway, "We could watch _Lord of the Rings_ instead."

Kurt scowled. "No."

But Artie had already disappeared, and from the sounds inside had commandeered the DVD player with his third option.

Fussing, Kurt ran back inside.

Standing in the doorway Tina could them around the TV, Mercedes trying to reasonably argue her way, Kurt ignoring her as he shoved the DVD into the player, and Artie messing up the TV in way none of them could fix. Eventually she figured they'll pick a solution none of them like and Mercedes refuse to talk to each of them throughout the movie, Artie would make coffee again just to tick Kurt off. The evening was probably ruined yet Tina found herself smiling anyway. Maybe Artie was right, maybe it was just enough to enjoy things as they were. Life, especially an immortal life was very boring and if she let them maybe they can be the support to keep her from becoming like Jesse or any of the vampires she had fallen out with. There wouldn't be any more Shelbys, there wouldn't anymore close misses like Mike, just Tina. Simply Tina and her somewhat eccentric roommates.

She liked how that sound, arguments and all.

"If you can't make your minds," she said as joined them, "let me pick!"

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you for all your kind feedback! This was a crazy idea from the start and I loved how well received it was. Thanks!


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